The train tracks at the intersection of Tống Duy Tân and Trần Phú in Hanoi, Vietnam

Wendy Recinos is an interior designer, artist, and the founder of Where Art Thou? I’ve only been traveling with Wendy for a few months, but she’s quickly become one of my go-to weekend people. Aside from our mutual love of brunch, Wendy is amazing at finding the little-known art corners of every city we’ve lived in. From street art tours to exhibits in hip warehouses featuring local artists, if you ask Wendy, “Where art thou?” the answer is likely someplace beautiful.

When you were 17, what did you want to be?

I think I've always known that I wanted to be an interior designer. I distinctly remember going on a tour of George Mason [University] my senior year, and I asked them if they had an interior design program, and they didn't. They only had an architectural program.

In many ways, Thomas Dempsey is the epitome the millennial entrepreneur. After getting his MBA at Louisiana State University, Thomas spent two years as the COO of a financial management company. But it didn’t take long for him to realize that the greatest professional satisfaction comes from doing things on your own terms. Thomas is currently experimenting with several ideas, primarily developing apps and launching a company specializing in drone technology. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

When you were 17, what did you want to be?

A doctor. Our high school did a mediocre job of career exploration. I did okay on the ACT, and pretty much everyone who got higher than a 27 on the ACT was told, "Oh, you should go into pre-med."

​Krystal Patel is the director of accounting for Kriya Hotels, a hotel management company she runs with her sister and brother-in-law. It was interesting to me to hear Krystal talk about how she felt a little lost in her professional and educational goals when she was younger. This surprised me mostly because, in the year I’ve known Krystal, she’s been singularly clear on what she likes and what she doesn’t like, and makes decisions accordingly. It was refreshing to hear that even when someone looks like they have it all figured out, they’re still a work in progress. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

When you were 17, what did you want to be?

I had a few hobbies when I was growing up, but I didn't really know what they translated to. My parents were entrepreneurs in the hotel industry. I basically just followed them around; I would go to work with them every day in the summer and a lot of days after school. I'd go to the architect's office, and I would go to construction sites, and I always really loved architecture. Their architect would give me rolls of paper and I would go home and draw plans to scale for home renovations. I really loved doing that.

Unofficial We Roam poster child is just one of the many hats Blaine wears

Blaine Anderson is the director of travel operations for We Roam, and in some ways the inspiration for this blog. I met Blaine in January, and per usual, I asked her where she went to college and what she had studied. The unexpected compatibility of her Latin American studies major and our remote work program in South America seemed harmonious in a way she never could have planned for. It was exactly the kind of story I’d been telling my students. I offhandedly pitched the idea of interviewing her, and 11 months later, here we are. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

When you were 17, what did you want to be?

Knowing that you were going to ask that, [I’ve been] thinking a lot about it, racking my brain, texting my parents, and when I was 17, I don't think I thought that much past what I was doing that weekend and getting [the] grades I needed to go where I wanted to for college. I don't think I had the foresight.

Embracing the concept with an actual picture from when she was 17 (the plaid in the center)

Dasha Nikitina is a freelance marketing professional, deftly straddling the line between business and tech, consulting and coding. Originally from Russia, she’s lived in and around New York City for most of her life, and her worldly perspective is one of things that makes her stand out, professionally and personally. As with many of these stories, the recession played a big role in Dasha’s early professional life, but I was completely impressed by her tenacity and creativity in nailing her first full-time job. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

​When you were 17, what did you want to be?

I don't think at that moment I was thinking about what I wanted to do. I was just trying to fit in. I finished high school at 16, and then I turned 17 and went to college. At that point, I just felt like there was too much change going on. So I thought, "Just get to the college part and then figure it out."

What is the When I Was 17 Project?

When I Was 17 is a blog series dedicated to collecting the varied stories of people's career paths, what they envisioned themselves doing when they were teenagers and how that evolved over the course of their lives. I started this project with the goal of illustrating that it's okay not to know exactly what you want to do when you're 17; many successful people didn't, and these are a few of their stories.